Reeling Yankees fall farther behind Tampa

Sunday

NEW YORK — Jon Lester thought about the standings and realized the hole the Boston Red Sox are in — 5½ games behind the Yankees in the AL wild-card race with just eight games to play.

NEW YORK — Jon Lester thought about the standings and realized the hole the Boston Red Sox are in — 5½ games behind the Yankees in the AL wild-card race with just eight games to play.

Difficult. Not impossible.

Especially with four more games against the Yankees.

"We've got a chance," he said Saturday after taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and leading the Red Sox over the fading Yankees 7-3.

Lester (19-9) became the first Boston left-hander in 57 years to win 19 games, overpowering the Yankees in the late-afternoon shadows before Francisco Cervelli singled off the glove of diving rookie Daniel Nava in left field with one out in the sixth.

Lester allowed two hits in seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. He won his sixth straight start, extended his scoreless innings streak to 15 and lowered his ERA to 2.96.

"It was so hard to see the first, what, five innings," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "His two-seamer had such good, you know, depth to it, and his cutter. He was explosive."

While the Red Sox are spurting with eight wins in 12 games, the Yankees are sputtering. New York dropped out of first in the AL East on Friday night and is 1½ games behind Tampa Bay, slumping to 26-26 since Aug. 1 following a 66-37 start. The Yankees have lost four straight at home for the first time since May 2-7 last year.

"We're still in a good spot," manager Joe Girardi said. "We have seven games left to play, and our club needs to win three games. If you had said that Feb. 15, all of us would have signed up for it."

Getting outscored 34-16 during the skid, the veteran-stocked Yankees are 10-13 in September — hitting just .256 with a 4.66 ERA. They appear to be tired, and their magic number remained at three, making it impossible to clinch a playoff berth at home.

"We need somebody to go out and shut the door on the other team," said Alex Rodriguez, whose fifth-inning walk gave the Yankees their first baserunner. "When you're down five or six runs, it's hard to play with an edge."

After Yankees rookie Ivan Nova (1-1) was knocked out early, J.D. Drew and Victor Martinez hit consecutive home runs in the seventh against Chad Gaudin, bringing loud boos from a sellout crowd.

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